What is Tinnitus and What Can I Do About It?

If you suffer with a strange noise in one or both of your ears, then you could be one of the 50 million Americans who suffer with tinnitus. Around 12 million of these people find their condition severe enough to seek help.

Tinnitus can affect anyone but is more common among those who have worked in noisy environments. For some, the noise is intermittent and for others, it can be constant. The sounds you hear can range from a buzzing or humming to clicking, ringing, or even chirping.

There are two types of tinnitus – objective and subjective. If you think you have tinnitus, it is important to know which type you have to give you the best chance of improving your condition. When you book a free comprehensive hearing evaluation at Beltone, your hearing aid specialist should be able to tell you which one you have.

If you suffer with objective tinnitus, which is the rarer form, then your hearing aid specialist should be able to hear the noise also. As this form is usually physiologically based, then there might be some treatment available to you.

The most common form of tinnitus is subjective. This means that only you can hear it but it certainly doesn’t make it any less frustrating. While there is no specific cure for subjective tinnitus and while in some cases it can go away by itself, with the right hearing aid specialist there is a lot that can be done to improve your condition and, ultimately, the quality of your life.

What can be done?

Relaxation techniques
Taking some time out every day to practice some self-care and relaxation can help improve your condition. Tinnitus can be very distressing, and relaxation techniques can help lower that frustration and focus your attention on something calmer.

Sound masking
It might sound counterintuitive to mask sound with more sound, but it has shown to be quite effective in helping people combat the noise of their tinnitus. Here at Beltone, we offer our very own FREE Tinnitus Calmer App which is available on Apple and Android devices – it offers both sound and relaxation therapy to help provide much needed relief from tinnitus.

Quit smoking
Smoking has negative consequences for our overall health but also our hearing and can make your tinnitus worse. Consider cutting down or stopping altogether to help reduce the effects of tinnitus.

Hearing aids
There are a few ways in which hearing aids can help with tinnitus. Many people who suffer with tinnitus also have a hearing loss. Wearing a hearing aid improves hearing and when you can hear the sounds around you more clearly it can mask the noise of tinnitus. Hearing aids also have volume controls, which means that the user can increase the sound of their environment to make it louder than their tinnitus. Hearing aids have also been shown to increase stimulation between the brain and auditory pathways which can also reduce tinnitus. If you think you have tinnitus, then Beltone hearing aids might be a good solution!

If you would like to explore the possibility of using hearing aids to relieve your tinnitus, then please contact us here and schedule an appointment at a Beltone near you.

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